Are Irwin saw blades any good?

[John McClanahan]

My local Menards has Irwin 10" 40 tooth "Classic Series" on sale, 2 for $19.68. How does Irwin quality stack up? I'm a novice, and don't produce the quality of work to justify a $100+ blade.

John

[Chris Kennedy]

I have several Irwin circ saw blades, and they're okay for my circ saw -- I don't expect high quality cuts from my circ saw. I would be a _little_ hesitant for table saw/mitre saw blades. I might take the chance, but I think I would save a little and get Freud Diablos.

Cheers,

Chris

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have a 10" 40T and 80T irwin regular blade. It was the combo pack from the Borg for like $55.

I cut a lot of sheet goods, hard maple, beech with it.

It's not like my wood burns or It produces really rough edges... The cuts may not be perfect and ready for finishing, but after some light sanding they're good. For glue-ups they're fine.

As long as these blades do the job I ask them to do, I have no need to upgrade to a $100 blade. Once these blades dull, and I was satisfied for what I got out of it, then I'll just buy another. heh

I know eventually if I work with more expensive wood products and my investment is higher, I would consider the Forrest WW everyone raves about.

[Myk Rian]

I had the Irwin double set but gave them to my son. I'm a Freud man now.

[Rich Neighbarger]

Even the best table saw is only as good as the part where the metal meets the wood. No, one doesn't need to spend $100 to cut wood.

Better blades run truer, run quieter, cut cleaner, put less stress on the tool, and are safer to operate than the cheap ones. All will cut wood though, but then again, so does a chain saw. Your quality may not be what you want it to be now, even so, you will appreciate a good blade. Your quality will follow as well.

I personnaly loath sanding and would rather spend a few bucks than to not have to spend time sanding out "character" my tools may have added to the piece for me.

[John McClanahan]

I stopped in at Home Depot a while back to pick up a Freud 40 tooth on sale, but they were bare blades stacked on a peg with no tooth protection. Wasn't sure if the tips may be dinged, so I passed.

John